Credit: Ted Fitzgerald

Market Basket executives fired over the weekend after orchestrating Friday's protest at the grocery chain's Tewksbury headquarters are calling on store employees to stay away from their jobs for another week.

Employees should remain on the sidewalks outside their stores, and customers should boycott the stores, to grind the company to a standstill, the executives, who are leading a fight to have ousted Market Basket CEO Arthur T. Demoulas reinstated, said at a rally today in the parking lot outside the company's store in Tewksbury.

The rally drew an estimated crowd of 5,000 to 7,000 people, the bulk of whom appeared to be employees.

"We have them over the ropes," said Tom Trainor, a Market Basket grocery supervisor who was fired over the weekend. "We are on control of this company right now."

Trainor and other former top executives and current store managers said a revolt by warehouse employees who have not been reporting to work is preventing many products, including perishables, from being delivered to stores.

"Now is the time to deliver the knockout punch, and we need you help to do it," Trainor said. "We need a week from you. Give us one week."

Demoulas was fired last month along with two top deputies by a board of directors aligned for the last year with his rival cousin, Arthur S. Demoulas. The board was scheduled to meet over the telephone today to discuss the situation.